Ignite: Part 1
by Smiley612
Summary: Angela, a shy girl, comes to Waffle Island to start a new life and escape from her abusive boyfriend. She's terrified of love, and won't seem to let anyone in or trust them. Meanwhile, Luke, a handsome, young and outgoing boy sees the opportunity to befriend Angela and make her fall in love with him. Luke's plan is going well, until an accident gets in the way. Part One of Two.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Hi! So, I might have to explain this thing.**

**I've written this story before on a different account, but I deleted it on the second chapter. Now, over a year later, I've improved it and published it again on a different account. And yeah, this story's kind of long, so I made it into two parts. This part will have 40/50 chapters or so, and so will the next part. Enjoy!  
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**By the way, the image represents the story almost PERFECTLY. :)  
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**Have a sparkling day. :)  
**

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Angela Newman had no idea what to expect. She was leaving Forget-Me-Not Valley, where she had lived for many years. She had the perfect life: a wonderful boyfriend, a loving family, caring friends, and money to buy them what they needed. Angela had no right to complain about her life.

She was perfectly content in the small valley she called home. Angela and her father ran a small farm together. They raised animals, tended crops, and had a wonderful relationship. Even though Angela had plenty of friends, her father was her best friend. They did absolutely everything together.

Sixteen-year-old Angela was happy. She was a very happy person and had no thoughts about leaving the valley and starting a new life; but that was exactly what happened until her life spiraled out of control.

A few months ago, her father passed away. He had gone to the city to sell their crops and had never returned. He was missing for two weeks until a man knocked at Angela's door and told her that he was dead.

Angela cried. She cried quite often and everyone in the valley knew, even though she never cried in front of anyone and would never ask for comfort. Only Marlin, her boyfriend of two years, was there by her side the whole time. No one else would approach; no one would bother to comfort her. Marlin was the only one Angela had left.

Marlin knew. They spent every minute of every day together. He would leave his sister's farm for a couple of hours to help Angela with her work. While they plowed land, or fed the livestock, they bonded quite well.

Their relationship had started as a dare. Everyone teenager in the valley hung out at the bar every Saturday. They talked, had food and drinks (non-alcoholic, of course), and played games. Since they were only thirteen, they had to careful about which games they played. Muffy always chose Truth or Dare.

At the time, Marlin and Angela weren't friends. They weren't enemies, though, either. They were only acquaintances. But one day, in the middle of July, they were playing a game of Truth or Dare while eating snacks and sipping juice. Angela, as always, was the only one drinking a glass of water. Everyone laughed and spun the bottle around multiple times, until it landed between Angela and Marlin.

"Hm," Muffy tapped her chin, as if she were thinking. "Since it landed between you guys, I'll guess I'll have to do both of you. Truth or dare?"

Angela always chose Dare. She liked taking risks. Marlin alternated: Truth, dare, truth dare. They shared a look and said, "Dare."

Muffy smiled. "I dare you two to go on a date. A real one, tomorrow, here in the bar. I'll provide food and drinks for you guys!"

Marlin and Angela were neither happy nor sad. They had no feelings for each other whatsoever, so they didn't see the harm in going on a date. The next day, which was Sunday, they met together, and immediately hit it off. They had more in common than anyone would ever think. They continued going on dates until Marlin asked Angela to be his girlfriend. She agreed, but Angela was always on guard. She knew that he was in love with Celia, but while Marlin and Angela were together, he showed no signs of ever falling in love with her.

Now, two years later, Marlin is in love with Angela. He was planning on proposing to her when they were eighteen, so they could live happily ever after, just like the movies.

But as Angela then learned, there was no such thing as Happily Ever After.

When Marlin thought that Angela was okay, when he thought she had gotten over her father's death, he began to work on his sister's farm again. Angela was okay with that. Even though every little thing she did reminded her of her dad, she knew that he would be disappointed if she gave up, so she kept going.

After a long, stressful morning in the fields, she ran over to Vesta's farm to pick up some new seeds. Instead of getting the seeds, she got her heart ripped in half by the person she least expected: Marlin. He was in a full-out kissing section with Celia in her bed. Marlin had heard the door slam and peeked his head out of the covers, fully naked. Celia was next to appear, and Angela could see that she was naked too.

Marlin was having sex with her. He was cheating on her.

At first, Angela didn't know what to do. What do you do when the only one who can make you stop crying is the one who made you cry? For a second, she stood, facing Marlin and Celia's naked bodies, and she was completely numb. She couldn't feel her body, but then suddenly all feeling returned. She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she ran out, back onto her farm.

Marlin did not follow.

Now, Angela had absolutely no one. She had not a single soul in Forget-Me-Not Valley that she could count on. She had no idea what to do, but then she realized she must leave.

Angela sobbed into her pillow. She sobbed for what seemed like days, but was probably only a couple of hours. At one point, she thought she heard the door open, but she thought she was only imagining it. She continued to cry until she felt a sharp pain shoot up her back.

She turned around, the pain in her back burning, until she saw Marlin. He was standing in front of her, a ferocious look in his eyes. "Now, Angela," he said. "You will not say a word about what happened yesterday. If I hear a word utter out of your mouth about Celia and I, I will do much worse than hurt you. I will cause you emotional and physical pain. Do you understand me?"

Angela didn't say anything.

"Do you understand me?" Marlin growled through his teeth.

Angela let out a little whimper.

"I can't hear you!" He yelled, kicking her straight in her chest. Angela let loose a sound of pain, fear, and longing for her father. He would know what to do. A tear of pain slid down her face. "Say it. Tell me that you understand me."

"I understand," Angela said, barely audible.

"What?" Marlin yelled again, slapping her across the face.

"I said I understand," Angela whispered, a little louder, but only loud enough for him to hear.

"You better." He said, kicking her again.

Angela cried out in pain as soon as he left. She cried out in pain and agony and there was no one there, no one to comfort her. She had no one left.

If she had no one, there was no reason to stay. She balled her hands into her fists, trembling as if the weather was freezing, and made her way into the tool shed.

Her whole body was shaking as she lifted her plowing hoe into the air. She slowly brung it back, placing the blade against her wrist.

She was about to slice her skin open when she stopped. Something made her stop. She felt her heart beating out of her chest, saw the vein in her wrist popping out at her, screaming, "Cut me! Cut me!"

But she knew she couldn't do it. Her father would be so disappointed. She held on for so long, and now she was about to give in and cut her skin. She had to numb the pain some way.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she croaked, slamming the plowing hoe on the ground. She screamed at the top of her lungs, letting it all out. She collapsed on the floor of the tool shed, crying, and crying . . .

And then she was gone. She knew she had to leave somehow. She croaked again, slowly got up, and made her way across the farm, across Vesta's farm, and into the city. She walked for days and days until she finally found an old ticket station. She knew she must've looked like a homeless person, with her bruises and scratches and the dirt on her face and skin from wandering for days. She brought nothing with her, only herself. She bought the ticket with the only money she had, ten gold. She didn't care where she was going. She was going to get away from Forget-Me-Not Valley.

Once upon a time, words never hurt her. Change never killed her. Love never broke her. Fear never shook Angela and her hopes never faded away. She never broke down and she was always happy.

Yeah . . . once upon a time.

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**A/N - How'd you like it so far? There's more coming your way, and please review. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Di immortales . . .  
3 reviews . . .  
*Dies of happiness*  
Okay, so I know it isn't a crap-load of reviews, but still, this is the Harvest Moon fandom. It's a lot of reviews! Thank you so much! I love ya'll! You are all wonderfully amazing and nothing will ever change that.  
Oh my gods, I forgot the disclaimer in the first chapter. Oh noeeez. Well, I don't own Harvest Moon. **

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"By the way, why are you heading to the island, anyway?"

Angela Newman still had no idea what to expect. Here she was, on a boat with a man she met two minutes ago, heading to a place she had never seen before.

Angela still wasn't sure why she had booked the trip to the island. She supposed her reason was to escape from Marlin, but somehow, she knew it had to be more than that. Her father had friends in the city. Angela could have stayed with them. She had known them since she was small. Instead, Angela booked a trip to a land she had never known to meet tons of new people. This wasn't Angela's smartest move, not by a mile.

Angela delicately picked the brochure out of her pocket and handed it to the man. He had white hair, a warm smile, and clothes that obviously said he was a sailor. Angela knew that the man had told her his name, but she couldn't remember what it was. The man took the brochure out of her hands and scanned it.

"So you've seen the brochure. Excellent. So, you're all ready to become a legendary rancher, right?"

Angela felt a flush of relief. Just her luck, she managed to book a trip to an island to be a rancher, an occupation she had worked for ever since she was small. The man regarded her, and Angela couldn't read his expression, which only terrified her more. Was this man going to hurt her?

Angela was shaking as she gave a slight nod. She watched the man smile brighter and take a puff from his pipe. "Well, you'll definitely get your chance soon enough! All right, then. Tell me, what was your name again?"

Angela couldn't force the three-syllable name out of her lips. They were sealed shut. Names have power, her father once told her.

Her father was a very wise man. He always knew what to do when he was in trouble. He was well educated, having went to college for many years.

If Angela ever needed help or advice, her father was the first one she turned to. The second was Marlin. But now both of those people were gone. She had neither of her parents, and her friends in the valley had abandoned her.

Angela's mother had died a maternal death, in childbirth. She had passed away trying to give Angela a chance at life.

Angela knew her mother for two minutes and forty-seven seconds of her life. And then she was gone.

When Angela was younger, her father had told her her mother had died in an accident, but he wouldn't tell her anything more. Angela could tell that if he pushed him for more information, he would start to cry.

Angela hated seeing her dad cry. He was the only one she had. He was Angela's role-model, the person she looked up to.

His name was Douglas. He was kind, wise, and brave. He was good-looking, but not overly attractive. Even though Angela had heard the story of how her mother and father fell in love a million times, she loved hearing it. In 1994, Douglas Newman and Linda Carver had met at a bartending school in the city. Alicia had gone with some of her friends. The teacher separated the group into two teams; Linda was on one and Douglas was in the other. Linda was assigned to the team that had to make the drinks and serve them to the customers. Linda had a specific drink she loved to make, and when she walked over to Doug's table, she told him, "Could you order a Long Island Iced Tea? It's my favorite - and also the only one I know how to make." she admitted.

Doug laughed. "Sure. One Long Island Iced Tea, please." he said.

Angela's father told her that story very often, but Angela never had gotten tired of hearing it. Since her mother had died in her first two minutes alive, she loved hearing about what she was like. Her father would never make it past the point of their third date before breaking down in tears.

"Excuse me, love?" The sailor asked, breaking her out of her trance. "What was your name?"

"A - Angela," she muttered, and then cleared her throat, speaking a little louder. "My name is Angela."

"Ah, yes, of course, it's Angela. Meaning, angelic. I'm sure you will live up to your name meaning one day," the sailor smiled.

Angela's expression gave nothing away. After the realization that everyone she had known and loved had either died or abandoned her, she knew she couldn't trust anyone. They'd do the same. They'd tell her that they love her, that they will never leave her, but then they go and abandon her at the time when she needs them most. What made Angela think that the people here would be any different?

After all, Angela was certainly not angelic. She had bruises all over her skin from when Marlin hit her the other day. She had scratches and bruises from her long journey from Forget-Me-Not Valley to the boat dock. She looked nothing like an angel, not even close to one. She wondered why her parents had chosen the name Angela. Was it because they hoped she would be angelic? Angela felt a twinge of guilt. She hoped she hadn't let her parents down.

"I hope so too," Angela said softly.

"Angela, why are you so quiet? There is nothing to be worried about. I am not going to hurt you." the sailor said, curiously.

Angela cringed. She wouldn't trust this man. She couldn't trust anybody. She thought she could have trusted Marlin, but then he cheated on her and abused her. He had betrayed her. This sailor could do the same; he could hurt her, even though he said we wouldn't. People tend to do things they say they won't.

"Um, I – I'm just tired," she said, using the same cliché excuse everyone used. "I didn't get a lot of sleep on the way to the dock. I feel like I could just pass out right now," she said, which was slightly true. She had barely gotten any sleep on her journey.

The sailor nodded, but he still looked slightly concerned. "Well, anyway, Waffle Island is a great island. You won't find many better, Angela."

_So that's where I'm going_, Angela thought. _Waffle Island. What a strange name for an island . . . _

"It's quite impressive that you're venturing out to become a rancher like this, Angela. All by yourself, young and ambitious . . . impressive, indeed."

Since Angela already knew how to farm from her dad, it wasn't very impressive. She'd know what to do the second she set foot on the soil. She missed the smell of dirt, grass, and fodder for the animals. She wondered if she'd be able to buy any animals on this new island, the one the sailor had said was called Waffle Island.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

"So, Angela, when is your birthday?" he asked. It was a simple question, one that could be answered in the blink of an eye, but for a moment, Angela hesitated. It's not that she forgot her birthday, but like she dreaded the day she was born. She hated the date.

"Winter twenty-sixth," she said. Her seventeenth birthday had just passed, while she was traveling. She had spent her birthday sitting alone, eating the scraps of the food one nice man have given her. She was sobbing as she stuffed the food in her mouth, trying not to think of how she would spend the day in the valley, eating cake with her dad, her boyfriend, and Lumina, her best friend.

"While we're at it, if you don't mind me asking, what's your favorite food?"

She tilted her head like a confused dog. She thought, _Well, actually, I do mind_, but she said, "Pasta."

"Is that so? Well, you'll be glad to know that all of the food on the island is excellent." Angela smiled.

"Ah, yes. There it is, ahead in the distance there. It's such a pleasant and quiet island. A tranquil paradise, if you will."

Angela closed her eyes. "A tranquil paradise," she whispered dreamily.

"Angela?" the sailor asked. She opened her eyes. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong? You look like something's bothering you."

She shook her head softly. "Nothing's bothering me. Like I said, I'm only tired. I'm kind of nervous about coming here, though. There will be so many new people . . ." she said, and felt the tears coming. How could she handle this? She had come from a valley with twenty people, and now they'll be so many that would hurt her in some way.

"Yes, there are plenty of new people on this island that would love to meet you. They're all so nice and friendly . . . you'll absolutely love them."

Angela nodded, knowing that was a complete lie. How could she love someone who wouldn't love her? "I know I will," she said, her voice shaking. She struggled to keep it under control. "I can't wait to meet them all."

She bowed her head, trying to keep the sailor from seeing the tears forming in her eyes. She felt one slide down her cheek and quickly wiped it away before the sailor could notice. She kept her head hung low.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

Angela hesitated a moment. She despised the place. How was supposed to start it? "Forget-Me-Not Valley," she said eventually. "That's where I grew up."

"Ah, we've heard of it," the sailor said.

"You have?" Angela asked, a look of confusion crossing her face.

"Yes. I'm surprised you haven't heard of Waffle Island. We're quite a popular island. We ship many things oversea every day. Are you sure you haven't heard of us?" Angela shook her head, signaling that she hadn't. "Hm. That's quite weird. Well, we have heard of the place where you grew up. It's a small valley, isn't it? It seems like a very nice place to live."

"It wa - it is," Angela changed her answer. The sailor would question her if she said it _was_ a nice place to live. She couldn't afford any more questions. She had been asked many questions on her week-long journey. She had answered with a lie, saying that she was going home, but she knew that she wasn't.

"Well," the sailor smiled. "I'm sure you'll love the island. Like I said, it is very pleasant and quiet." Suddenly, there was a loud boom and the whole world turned turned black. And then as quickly as it had happened, the world lighted up again, rain pouring down on both of their heads. "Or rather, it WAS pleasant and quiet." the sailor said.

The rain continued to pour down, lightning flashing across the sky. "This is getting to be quite a storm! Let's get inside, Angela. It's going to get pretty rough out here soon." Angela agreed with him. One day on her journey, there had been a huge storm, and Angela had to duck inside a cavern for half of the day. She softly nodded, following the sailor inside the boat. He opened the door for her, and then a wave rocked the boat, knocking Angela over on her side. She hit the ground, and then she was left with nothing but darkness.

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The next thing she knew, she woke up on a comfortable bed in a different room. There was pretty furniture in the room, and the bed had a brown headset and green blankets. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and not knowing what else to do, she tore of the blankets and started to walk in the hallways. Her legs faltered once or twice, but she caught herself before she could fall. She made her way down a staircase and saw three people surrounding her.

"Oh, dear! You're awake! Are you okay?" A woman with orange hair and purple eyes said. She had a friendly, welcoming smile that Angela knew all too well. "Here, come with me." the woman led Angela over to a chair near a table. The other two people, a man with grey hair and an elderly woman with pink hair followed her. "Do you need me to get you a glass of water?"

"No thank you," Angela said softly.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Angela nodded. "All right. If you need anything, tell me. I'm Colleen, by the way. This is Jake" - she pointed to the man with grey hair - "and this is Yolanda." she pointed to the elderly woman. "We'd love to help you!" she smiled again, and Angela melted. Colleen's smile reminded her of her father's. Angela wanted to jump up and embrace her in a hug, but Colleen would cringe back, or something like that. After all, all of her friends in the valley had abandoned her.

"Okay," Angela agreed, but she would never ask them for help.

They talked for a little while longer, the elderly woman who's name was Yolanda - she told Angela about how she had been knocked unconscious on the boat, and that the mayor and some others brought her here. The doctor had examined her, said that she'd be fine, and had given her some sleeping pills. "You're not one to sea travel, are you?" she had asked at one point.

Angela had shook her head and laughed, but it was forced.

Colleen had told her that the mayor had asked to see her when she was okay again, and Angela had said she was fine, walking out the door. She was glad to finally get away from them.

She had opened the door of the inn, seeing the bright morning air. She smiled like an idiot. It felt nice to feel the light of the sun. She saw a short, plump man jog up to her. He introduced himself as Hamilton. He gave her a slight tour of the town, pointing out all the shops and houses. She knew it was useless to her. Why would she go to places where the people wouldn't care for her? She had swore to herself while Hamilton was telling her about the general store that she's spend every day in her house, sitting alone and crying. It would be better than staying in Forget-Me-Not Valley, where she had absolutely no one.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?" Hamilton asked her. "I'm sure they'd love to get to know you!" Angela laughed mentally. Sure, they'd love her for two minutes, and then never think about her again.

"Sure," she told the mayor. She couldn't disobey an order from the man who ran the island. "I'll be right back."

Angela took a shaky breath, putting one foot in front of the other. She didn't trust where she was going with her feet. They'd take her to places she didn't know, and she hated not knowing that. Her self-esteem was now at zero percent. She had been abused by the one person she thought she could trust. Marlin - Angela hated saying the same - knew he was the only one she had, but still he had slept with Celia and hit her. He got Boyfriend Of The Year award that day, huh?

She disregarded the bad thoughts about what had happened that horrible day and started to walk up a flight of stairs, which led to a square filled with beautiful flowers of various colors. There were benches surrounding the flower beds, and Angela resisted the urge to pick a flower, sit on a bench and just sit there, content, for a couple of hours. Her father had told her one day that her mother had loved the color red, and there were plenty of red flowers surrounding the building in front of her.

Angela's heart warmed. She gave in, kneeling down and plucking up a red flower. She brought it up to her nose and was about to sniff, but a pale hand reached over and touched her Angela's skin. "Don't do that."

Angela cringed, quickly pulling her arm away and keeping it close to her. "Are you okay?" a voice asked. She slowly looked up, and met a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked about nineteen or twenty, his expression giving off that he was stubborn, but smart and determined. She sighed, closing her eyes.

"Yes," Angela whispered. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure . . .?" The boy said, narrowing his eyes. Angela nodded. "Well, okay. Don't touch the flowers. By the way, my name's Gill." he held out his hand.

Angela regarded his hand for a moment, wondering if she should shake it. Would he hurt her? He gave off the impression that he would do anything to save the things he loves. Angela shook her head to herself, not knowing. She met Gill's gaze, and he had his eyebrows raised. She gave in, extending her hand weakly, and Gill shook it. He still had his eyebrows raised. "My name's Angela," she said.

Gill looked like he would say, "Ohhhhhh" but he didn't. He instead nodded his head, and said, "My father told me about you. You're the new rancher, right?" Angela nodded. "Pleasure to meet you."

She nodded again. It wasn't exactly the same for Angela - somehow, Gill would betray her, whether it be friendship, or something. "Well," Gill breathed, "I guess you need to go and meet the others in town. Go ahead, and please . . . don't touch the flowers." he looked dead-serious.

Angela blinked. She chuckled lightly to herself, and then nodded at him again, making her way into the building at the edge of the square. When she entered, a young woman introduced herself as Ellie. They talked for a few minutes, and then a blonde-haired girl in a ponytail came in, and Angela moved out of the way without needing a signal. The girl with the ponytail looked confused for a second, but she turned to Ellie and said something about the bar being closed for a while. She turned to Angela and introduced herself as Kathy. Kathy gave her a genuine smile, and then walked out of the building.

Ellie told her to keep exploring the island or else she'd stall her for the rest of the day. Angela did as she was told. During her introductions, she met two parents; Barbara and Simon. Barbara was perky, and Simon was worried about everything. They told her they had a daughter, Phoebe, but she missed the boat home and wouldn't be back soon. Angela also met Irene, an elderly woman who worked at the clinic, and Jin, the doctor who examined her while she was unconscious. Jin told her to drink plenty of fluids and get lots of rest for the next week, and Angela hesitantly agreed.

Angela walked out of the clinic and made her way to the fishery. She went inside and Ozzie, the main fisherman introduced himself. After that, she went outside and saw the sailor who had sailed her over to the island. They had a conversation, the sailor asking if she was okay. He introduced himself as Pascal, and Angela wasn't sure to be happy or sad that she knew his name.

After Angela met everyone in town, she made her way over to Hamilton and told him the news.

"Great!" He said loudly, and Angela cringed. "I'm sure you're tired, Angela. Why don't you get some sleep, and tomorrow I'll show you something," he smiled.

"Okay," she agreed. The mayor started to walk away, but Angela called him over. It took all of her willpower to yell his name. He turned around, smiling. "Yes, Angela?"

She wondered why everyone kept using her name. She hated the word, all six letters. They represented a person who was horrible, a lonely, miserable human being. And besides, as her dad had told her, names have power. She forced the three words out of her mouth: "What's today's date?"

"Spring first," he answered. "The first day of the year." He walked away, making his way into his house and locking the door. Angela stared at the ground for a moment, not knowing what to do. She finally walked into the inn, ignored the calls of Colleen, Yolanda, and Jake, fell onto her bed, and cried herself to sleep.

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**A/N - I always get a bit lazy at the end of each chapter, so excuse them . . . but thanks for reading, and please leave a review!  
Have a sparkling day!  
-Julianna**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Welcome to chapter 3! (:  
Thank you for the awesome reviews! I love you guys! :3  
****DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harvest Moon, or any of the characters. I own the ideas for this story, though! :D  
-Julianna**

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When Angela opened her eyes again, her cheeks were soaking wet.**  
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She wiped them clean with her hands, rubbing her eyes to clear them of sleep. She saw the bedroom she had woken up in yesterday. Angela started to get up, ripping the blankets off of her body when she realized something. Hamilton had wanted to tell her something tomorrow . . . and tomorrow was today.

Angela yawned, and wiped her eyes clear of any upcoming tears. She had cried herself to sleep last night, thinking about how stupid she was to start a new life on a new island with new people would leave her. Everyone leaves, eventually.

Her shoulders sulked as she walked downstairs, hesitantly saying "Good morning" to Colleen, Jake, and Yolanda, and made her way over to the door. She opened the door, letting the sun shine down on her face as it had yesterday, and Angela felt better than she had that morning. Hamilton waltzed over to her, smiling like an idiot. "Hello! Isn't it a good morning?" he asked innocently.

"Um . . . yes." she answered.

Hamilton smiled, like nothing could bother him. "Well, Angela, since you've met everyone, why don't you come with me?"

Angela's guard went up immediately. What was he going to do? "Um . . . uh . . no, thank you," she said, even though she knew she was being rude.

The mayor raised his eyebrows, just like the boy named Gill did yesterday. Now that Angela looked closer, they both had the same blond hair and blue eyes. _They must be related_, Angela thought.

"What do you mean? Do you not want to come with me?" he asked. Angela shook her head, agreeing that she didn't want to go. "Why not? I want to show you the rest of the island and meet the rest of the residents! What's wrong?"

Angela couldn't tell him for many reasons. Honestly, even she did not know what was wrong. She was starting a new life, away from her boyfriend who had betrayed her and the friends who had left her. What was there to be sad about?

Angela was afraid everyone would leave her, just as the people in the valley did. She didn't want to let anyone in, because if she did, she'd only be more disappointed if they left. She would get her hoped up, just to have them crash and burn. She couldn't allow that to happen.

Angela took a shaky breath. She didn't feel like talking, but she knew she had to. "N - nothing's wrong. I - I just miss my old family where I used to live. I'm a little nervous starting over . . ." she said softly, but loud enough for Hamilton to hear. What she said was almost the truth. Almost.

The mayor looked almost relieved. "Well, don't you worry. I'm sure you'll keep in touch with your loved ones! And about starting over: take it day by day. Everyone's nervous in their first week in a new town. And speaking of which . . . you said you wanted to be a rancher, right?"

Angela nodded confidently. Farming was the only thing she knew how to do correctly.

"Will you come with me?"

Angela still didn't know what to do. She didn't trust this man. She didn't trust any of the residents she had met so far. Angela hesitated, staring down at the ground, and a moment later regarding the town. The paths were bustling with busy residents, trying to reach their stores and jobs. Everyone seemed to have something to do, somewhere to go, or someone to meet. It saddened her.

"Angela?" Hamilton used her name again, and even though Angela despised it, she slowly looked at the plump mayor, and nodded slightly. This was her new home, the place where she lived. She couldn't disobey a request from the man who ran the place.

"Great!" he exclaimed. "Follow me." he started walking up the path and Angela stood her ground, not wanting to follow him, but when he turned around with a pleading look in his eyes and said, "Are you coming?" she gave in and jogged up to him, following him up the path.

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Angela's guard was up the whole time, preparing for whatever the mayor would do to hurt her, but Hamilton only showed her the Maple Lake District, which he wanted to be a housing district. From what Angela could see, there was only three houses, but Hamilton seemed to determined. Angela knew that look from someplace - she realized she remembered that look on Gill's face yesterday. _They're definitely related_, Angela thought.

"Come along," Hamilton said, his hand grazing her arm. She winced as if she'd just bumped into a wall, and brought her arm to her chest so Hamilton couldn't touch her again. After Marlin abused her that night, she was scared everyone here would do the same. Her expression returned to how it was before Hamilton could notice. Angela didn't want him questioning her.

She followed him up a hill, and she saw a tall building with a sign that said "Souffle Farm". Angela blinked. She remembered hearing that the inn she had stayed in was called the "Sundae Inn", and the clinic was "Meringue Clinic"; and the island itself was "Waffle Island". Was everything here named after food?

Angela decided that it didn't matter, and started to follow Hamilton again, until they were only a few feet in front of the front steps. "Since you want to be a farmer, your house is still being built, and this here building is a farm, I decided you can stay here for a few days until your place is built. Maybe you'll even learn a few things about farming!"

Angela stared up at the building. She was about to meet even more new people, and learn things she had known ever since she was small - she had literally grown up on a farm with her father. She knew everything there was to know about farming. Hamilton assumed that she was a new farmer.

In a way, Angela was thankful for that. It was better that everyone knew nothing about her than them knowing everything about her, right down to the fact that she had a freckle on her left butt cheek.

"Alright, Hamilton," Angela said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome! I'll come in when your house is built. Why don't you go in and introduce yourself? I'm sure they'll welcome you in!"

* * *

As it turned out, Hamilton was dead wrong.

Not only were the people in Souffle Farm mean and rude, but they also didn't want to have her in. Angela knew this was coming and wasn't surprised - after all, her friends didn't want her around. Why would these people want her?

Hamilton came in and talked some sense into Craig and Ruth, the people who owned the farm. Angela did her best to hide her tears as they got into a heated discussion. Eventually, the discussion cooled off, and Ruth came over and told her they'd love to keep her, but she knew that the mayor had talked her into it.

Nobody ever wanted Angela around, and she knew that.

Ruth told Angela to go outside and meet her husband by the fields. Angela didn't want to get on her nerves, so she rushed outside and met Craig by the fields. During the day, Craig made Angela pull out weeds and water the plants. Craig was thoroughly impressed with Angela's skills; but he didn't know that she had been ranching for all seventeen years of her life. While she was out in the fields, even though Craig kept pushing her, she felt at home. The fields were the only place now where she could relax and lose care for everything.

After she finished her chores for the day, Ruth told her she could have the middle room. As Angela was plopping down on her bed, she heard the door slam shut and immediately bolted up. She didn't know what was happening, but a girl, probably around Angela's age came in and introduced herself as Anissa. Angela sighed and went back to bed.

That night, she had a nightmare. She dreamed that she was back in Forget-Me-Not Valley, on that horrible day where she caught Marlin sleeping with Celia, and when he had abused her. She woke up in a cold sweat. She could swear she felt the sharp pain of Marlin's hand hitting her back, and his foot on her chest, but when she opened her eyes and took in reality, Angela felt fine.

She shook off that horrible feeling, and Ruth told her that Craig was waiting for her again. This time, Craig wanted Angela to harvest all of the strawberries and place them in the shipping bin. Craig was flabbergasted to see that Angela had done the tasks faster than he had ever done.

After Angela was done with her chores, Craig took three strawberries out of the bin and handed them to Angela, telling her to give them to their neighbors.

That was absolute _torture _for Angela. She couldn't force herself to go up to them; she just couldn't.

She saw Gill up on the hill by the church. She couldn't go up there and hand them the strawberry; she hesitated at the bottom of the hill, struggling with herself to walk over to him. Gill noticed her, and started over toward her. He raised his eyebrows, as he had done two days ago, the first day they met. "Having trouble there?"

Angela jumped and almost dropped the strawberry, but Gill caught her before she fell. "Um . . . yeah . . . I . . . do - do you want - do you want . . ." Angela fumbled over her words.

"Do I want a strawberry?" he finished her question. She weakly nodded. "Yes, I'd love one. Tell Craig and Ruth that I said thank you." he took the strawberry from her hands and walked away.

Angela stood there, unsure what to do next. After Gill finished his strawberry and licked his finger, he turned to Angela again. "What are you still doing here? Don't you have a deadline? Go, go, go!" he rushed Angela out of his sight, and she took another strawberry out of her pack. She gave another to Jin, the doctor who had examined her, and another to Anissa, the girl who lived on Souffle Farm. When Angela went back, Ruth yelled at her for giving a strawberry to her daughter, which doesn't count as a neighbor, and Angela felt disappointed and ashamed. Ruth told her to go to bed, and they'd do something in the morning.

This time, Angela didn't have a nightmare about Marlin, Celia, or everyone in the valley. This time, she had a dream about a beautiful lady with wings and a dress. She wasn't sure what to make of that, but when she awoke, she heard talking coming from the main room. Angela tore off the blankets and made her way into the room.

"Ah!" Hamilton exclaimed. "Angela. I'm so glad you're awake. Your house has been built!" Angela faked a smile. She couldn't give away that she wasn't overly ecstatic that she was getting a house. A house meant a home, and Angela wasn't sure she had a home here.

"Really?" Angela questioned, trying to sound optimistic. She hoped that she had convinced the mayor that she was happy she had a house.

"Yes!" he announced. "Why won't you come with me?" Angela nodded, and he jogged out the door. Angela followed after a moment's hesitation, but after one step forward, Ruth stopped her by holding her by the shoulder. Angela cringed and pulled back. "Oh, dear, what's wrong? I just wanted to give you some money for helping out." she handed her a fistful of money.

Angela stared down at the pile of coins. "I can't take this," she said quietly. "I already knew how to farm."

Ruth shook her head, and laughed. "No, dear. You helped us pick up weeds, water the crops, ship them off, and deliver them to neighbors. You deserve it! Now, go spend it on something nice." she smiled.

"I - I can't . . . I wouldn't . . . I really shouldn't . . ." Angela fumbled over her words. She looked up from the ground and saw in Ruth's expression that if she didn't take the money, she'd be disappointed. "Thank you," she finally said.

Ruth smiled. "Take care, honey." she walked away. Angela stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do, but then turned around, took a shaky breath, and walked out the door.

Hamilton greeted her again, and told her to come with him. Angela followed him through a few different paths, and finally they walked up a hill, and Angela saw a huge house in the distance. She didn't believe it was hers for one second until Hamilton announced, "Welcome home!"

The house was beautiful. It was a plump little house with pink siding and a purple rooftop. There was tiny door and a window to the right. It wasn't a huge house, or a mansion, and Angela knew she shouldn't feel excited about it, but she was ecstatic. She had her own house, a place to herself. She could do whatever she wanted, wake up whenever, go wherever. She was absolutely content.

"I - is this mine?" she asked hopefully. Hamilton laughed.

"I did say 'welcome home', now didn't I? It's all yours, Angela!" Angela smiled to herself, but when she caught sight of Hamilton, her smile faded. "Are you kidding?" she asked.

Hamilton slightly titled his head, a smug look on his face. "Go on inside. Have the day to yourself. You look exhausted! Tomorrow you can get to work in the fields. Good day," he said, smiled again, and left Angela staring at her house.

* * *

The first thing Angela did was fall onto her bed and cry.

She knew there was nothing to be sad about; she had a new life without the people who abandoned her, with new people . . . but Angela knew that these people would abandon her sometime. Everyone does.

The house saddened her; it reminded her of her old life in the valley, her father and his death, Marlin and his betrayal, her friends and how they left her. Angela had no idea why they would leave her when she needed them most. She had sunk into depression for a few months after her father passed away, and the only one to comfort her was Marlin. She wasn't sure if the others were too scared to approach Angela because she was depressed, or because they thought she was crazy because she started taking anti-depressents from the city. Angela had no idea, but her 'friends' had left her.

She guessed she had cried herself to sleep, because when she opened her eyes again, the sun was shining down. The moon was up, casting its light down on her new house. Angela knew from experience that farming was better in sunlight, so Angela closed her eyes again and drifted off.

Her night was dreamless. There were no dreams of the lady with wings and blue hair, or nightmares of Marlin hitting and kicking. When Angela awoke, she was happy for the first time in days. She realized something; she had her own farm. It was her time to show her father that she was responsible. Angela spent seventeen years of her life farming. It was time to show off.

Angela took in a deep breath, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and heard her stomach rumble. She ignored the urge to eat, and ran outside into the fields. A smile so huge was plastered on her face. She felt the sun's rays shining down on her, she felt the cold soil on her bare feet, and knew that she would plant many plentiful crops. She'd make her dad proud.

Craig had given her a hoe when she was working on the Souffle Farm. Angela ran back inside and grabbed her hoe out of her toolbox and plowed the ground with all of her might.

Angela was extremely skinny; it was a trait she had inherited from her father. When Angela was fourteen, she tried eating all the time, but she couldn't gain much weight. The most she had gained was five pounds, so she had given up. Her dad told her to love the body's she's in, because that's the only one she's getting. For a while, she did appreciate it, but it made farming hard. Angela had no muscle whatsoever, so it was hard for her to lift the heavy hoe off the ground, swing it from behind her head onto the ground, and drag it a couple of feet, but her dad had taught her how to do so.

After she had plowed a couple of squares, she wiped beads of sweat off of her forehead and smiled, but that smile soon faded. She regarded the ground with distaste. She had forgotten to buy seeds.

* * *

Angela guessed it took her about an hour to gain the courage to walk into Souffle Farm, waltz up to the counter, tell Ruth, "I want to buy seeds," wait for her to bring them to her, and walk out, but eventually, Angela did exactly that. She was shaking the whole time, knowing that she couldn't do it. After Ruth handed Angela the seeds with a smile on her face, she quickly said thank you, brushed her brown hair out of her face, and ran out. She had utterly failed; fumbling over her words, not getting them off of her tongue. Angela Newman was a failure.

Angela ran outside, sat by the huge rock to the left of the farm, grabbed her hair and cried. She cried for a couple of minutes, until she had a headache awfully large, and sat up, wiping her flooded cheeks. She rubbed her forehead, decided that she shouldn't cry any more, and walked left of the edge of the farm. Angela figured that if she was going to live here for the next few years, she might as well get to know the place.

Angela saw a small child with orange hair in a ponytail. She had a yellow shirt with a blue stripe going across the middle, and a blue skirt. She looked about nine or ten. She had a smile plastered over her face, and a curious expression showing. She laughed and squealed as an older, buff guy picked her up and spun her around. The buff guy looked older than Gill, probably about twenty-two/three. The two people noticed Angela and waved, and she reluctantly waved back. What were they going to do? She took a shaky breath and continued.

Angela saw a tall brick building, with smoke pouring out of the chimney. She peeked into the window, and saw an elderly man working in a forge. There was no blacksmith in Forget-Me-Not Valley, but her father had told her about many in the city, and as a young child, she always wanted to know what they do. Angela continued to watch him until she heard a door slam a few meters away.

Angela jumped and continued to walk foward. She saw another building, one with brown siding, an large man working with wood inside. There was smaller boy too; he was sawing a tiny piece of wood. She knew she didn't have all day to watch them work, so she continued walking.

She wasn't watching where she was walking, so she ran into a large branch . . . tree, thing. It was standing right in her way, yelling, "Oof!" when she banged her head into it. She stumbled backwards, holding the top of her head. When she gained her balance again and the world stopped spinning, she rubbed her head, and she knew that it would leave a bruise. She brought her hand to her face and saw blood on her fingers. "Great," she muttered.

When Angela was sure the world stopped doing one-eighties, she blinked hard two times, and turned around to go home. She took one step foward and water spilled all over her shoes.

"Oh, great," said a boy. "I'm so sorry! It was supposed to be for you. I saw you bump your head and ran inside to get you a glass of water, and . . . ugh, I'm sorry." He said. He looked up, and Angela saw him.

He had blue hair tied back in a red and white bandana. His eyes were a shimmering gold, and Angela could tell this boy had tons of energy. He had a bandange on his nose, probably from working with wood, seeming as he had a stick of wood in his left hand. He had shark tooth necklace over his white shirt and brown jacket. His brown boots overlapped his blue jeans. He had a smirk on his face. "Again, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean -"

"I - it's fine," Angela muttered. "No harm done."

The boy sighed, wiping his forehead, saying, "Woo," just like the movies. "By the way, my name is Luke." he held out his hand.

Did Luke spill the water on purpose? Angela knew that it was small gesture, most likely done by accident, but she couldn't help but think. Was something wrong with her?

Luke still had his hand extended. Angela didn't want to be rude, so she extended hers, and they shook hands. "My name's Angela," she said.

"Ah, I've heard of you. Your the girl who started a ranch, right?" she eyed Luke, who had a curious expression on his face. Angela slightly nodded.

"Great!" Luke exclaimed. "Good luck! If you ever need any help, tell me! I'd love to help!" he swung his arm.

"Um . . . thanks," Angela said, but she wouldn't need his help. She knew how to do everything involving farming.

"I'll see you around?" Luke questioned, a smile still plastered on his face. Angela nodded again. "Cool."

She walked away, leaving Luke alone to pick up the broken glass on the ground without a second thought. All she wanted to do was go home and get to work planting her poatoes.

Little did Angela know that this was the boy she was going to marry.

* * *

**A/N - Chapter 3 done! I hoped you enjoyed!  
Have a sparkling day, and please leave a review! :D  
~Julianna**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - Hey guys! Once again, thank you for the awesome reviews! :3  
Updates will be slow until August 16th, because I'm still on vacation. Sorry for the wait; I'm in Florida right now and I couldn't get to a computer.  
Sorry for the short chapter. :(  
****DISCLAIMER: ****I don't own Harvest Moon! Enjoy the chapter! :D**

* * *

_~~. . . You put on quite a show. Really had me going. Now it's time to go; curtain's finally closing. That was quite a show, very entertaining, but it's over now. Go on and take a bow . . . ~~_**  
**

* * *

The day ended quickly. After Angela walked home, planted the crops and watered them, she wasn't sure what else to do, so she went inside her house and just hung out there for a couple of hours. When the sun set on the horizon, she tried to fall asleep without crying.**  
**

What woke Angela up was the pounding on her door. She looked out the window: it was still dark out. She tore off the covers, and opened the front door to a familiar face.

This face was too familiar. It was a face that she grew up with. This face had been with her through everything: happy days, sad days, and the days where there was nothing special. They had endured the pain together, celebrated the happiness, and spent many days alone, just talking. It was also the face that Angela hoped she would never see again.

Marlin was standing outside her door, his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. When he heard the door slam, he looked up, his black eyes meeting her brown ones. Neither of them said a word. Angela wasn't sure what she wanted to do: kiss him or kick him in his soft spot. He had betrayed her . . . but they had been through so much together. She decided she wouldn't do either of them.

"Angela," Marlin said. "I'm sorry."

Angela laughed dubiously. "Don't tell me you're sorry," she began. "I don't want to hear it. You're not sorry; you never were. When I caught you doing it with Celia, you didn't come by to apologize. You came over to hit and kick me because I caught you. If I didn't catch you, you never would have done anything!"

Marlin sighed. "Yes, I would've. Sleeping with Celia was the worst mistake I've ever made. Angela, you're the one I want to be with."

"No, I'm not!" Angela exclaimed. "You said that you wanted to marry me when we turned eighteen. You told me you were going to go ring shopping that weekend, but instead I find you naked in Celia's bed!" At this point, Angela had started crying.

She wouldn't let anyone in Waffle Island see her tears. If anyone saw her crying out here, they would rush to help her, ask her what's wrong, or get her some help. Angela wouldn't have the courage to say no to them; but she still couldn't trust them. She had trusted Marlin, but then he went and slept with another girl, and abused her after. She had trusted her friends, but they had abandoned her when she sunk into depression. Everyone she thought she could trust left, so why should she trust the islanders here? They would only do the same thing. Angela had learned that everyone leaves, eventually.

Now, with Marlin right in front of her, she didn't see a reason to be closed up as she had been for the past couple of days. She had spent seventeen years of her life knowing this kid, and four years dating him.

Angela could still remember the first time Marlin had kissed her.

It was a nice day in the valley; sometime in spring. Spring was Angela's favorite season back then; everything was blooming, coming to life. Angela was fourteen, and Marlin was fifteen. While they were dating, Marlin took her on dates occasionally, but for the past two seasons Angela hadn't seen much of him. He was going into the city to deliver crops to different villages; the winter season was scarce for them, and now Marlin was stocking them up for the rest of spring. Angela and her father offered to help grow the crops, but Vesta insisted they do it.

That day, spring 9th, was one of the only days Marlin would have off for a while, so he decided to take her for a picnic on the beach. They walked around the valley for a couple of hours after Angela had finished her chores for the day, strolling around hand-in-hand. Angela felt content, holding the hand of another person she [thought] she could trust. After an hour or two of talking, they finally sat down on the beach, and she saw a blanket and a picnic basket a couple of meters away.

Marlin was always quiet, so Angela wasn't surprised that he had picked somewhere where they could be alone. Angela didn't mind; she liked it better that way.

They sat down on the checkered blanket. Marlin reached into the basket and pulled out two peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, handing one to Angela and keeping one for himself. They ate contently, talking about random things like the ocean, or even the elderly couple who grew up together, Nina and Galen. When they finished their meal, there was an awkward silence before Angela ruined it by leaning in and kissing him. He kissed back.

Angela, staring at Marlin right now, trying to apologize, was one of the things Angela never thought would happen. She wiped a tear away from her cheek. "And to top that all off, you abused me right after that, saying that if I told anyone what happened, you would hit me harder," her voice was faltering, and then she hiccuped.

Marlin stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry I hit you."

"Stop saying you're sorry!" Angela exclaimed. "You're not. I know you're not."

There was an awkward silence, just like there had been before their first kiss, but this time there would be no kissing. Angela stared down at her shoes, finding a sudden interest in them. When she looked up again, she noticed two stray tears staining Marlin's cheeks. That surprised her. Marlin always kept to himself, he never let anyone see him cry. Not even Angela. This is the first time in four years she had seen tears in his eyes.

Just like her father, it pained Angela to see Marlin cry. She knew he had betrayed her, that he had abused her and cheated on her, but Marlin was her best friend next to her dad. She had spent so much time with him that she knew him inside and out, and so did he. Marlin knew that Angela had a freckle on her left butt cheek. He knew that she was born with a cataract. He also knew that she had a crumpled ear. They knew so much about each other, but now all that was thrown away. Their whole relationship was thrown away.

"I don't want to do this anymore," Angela whispered, and Marlin looked up.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"Leave," Angela started to say. "Please, just leave. I don't want to see you again. You ruined everything, so always know that it's your fault."

"No. Ang, I'm trying to ask for a second chance. Please, I love you. I want to be with you. Just take me back. We can live here, happily ever after, just like you want. Please . . ." he almost had a begging look in his eyes.

"You don't love me. You wouldn't have done what you did if you loved me. If you really did love me, there wouldn't be another choice, which you obviously had. So, no, I can't take you back. Because of you, I have trouble trusting people. I wish I could let everyone here in, but I can't! It's _all your fault_!"

Angela started sobbing, burying her face in her hands. She heard footsteps, and then suddenly felt a hand on her forearm. Angela screamed, and Marlin stepped back. "Don't touch me," she squeaked. A look of confusion crossed Marlin's face. "Just leave, Marlin, and don't come back. I don't want to be with you anymore. I'm not giving you a second chance. You don't deserve one."

Marlin sighed. "Fine. I'll tell Pascal to take me home," she said, and started to walk away.

Angela couldn't stand it anymore. As she watched him walk away, she screeched, "Marlin!"

Marlin turned around, a hopeful look in his eyes.

All Angela said, after wiping another tear away, was, "I love you."

Marlin nodded. "I love you too," he began to turn around, but then he whipped his head back. "If you want to come back to the valley, I'll be waiting by the docks. Pascal's not leaving until eight. Think about it."

Then he was gone. Angela could feel her heart fall into the pit of her chest. After she watched Marlin completely disappear, she walked into her house, not trusting where she was going, and leaned back against the wall. She gave out a cry of loneliness, helplessness, and utter disgust for herself. She slid down against the wall.

And she cried.

* * *

Even though all she wanted to do that day was cry, Angela remembered she had planted potatoes out on her field. She groaned, wiped her face clean, and then starting working in the fields. When she started to feel like she would pass out, she sat down, thinking about her conversation with Marlin. She knew things had gone wrong that night, but she also knew she could've stayed.

Maybe she could've forgiven him, and they could forget about that whole night. Marlin could've bought the ring, they could've waited a year, and then they could've gotten married, but now all of that was thrown away. There was no happily ever after. Angela was alone.

She sighed, and thought about her farm. There were four plots here. Angela could buy them and work on her farm all day. That would definitely make her dad proud. But right then, all Angela had was 100G. She couldn't buy anything.

When Angela finished watering the crops and pulling the weeds, she was sweating. She didn't know what to do after, so she walked around, exploring her farm plot. It was so big and vast that Angela couldn't believe it was hers. After she had examined the four plots, she made her way into Waffle Town. She tried to ignore the people saying, "Good morning!" or "Hello!", but Angela couldn't be rude. She didn't know what they meant, if it was a good morning because they were going to hurt her, or something, but she only waved weakly and continued on.

She sat down on the beach, reminiscing her first kiss, where they had also had by the ocean. Angela noticed that the boat wasn't docked in port, so she presumed that the boat had left with Marlin. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or sad about that, so she chose to feel neither. She took a shaky breath and stared out at the ocean for a while.

Angela liked the ocean. She always had. It was so vast and endless, and it didn't like to be restrained. She liked watching the waves form, and then crashing on the beach. She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that, but after a while she felt the presence of someone else.

"Hey," she heard someone say.

Angela jumped, and backed up. Could this person hurt her? The figure beside her laughed. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

Angela didn't know what to say, so she nodded. She still had no idea what they were going to do. She stared down at the sand, counting the rocks, hoping that they were going to go away, but then she heard the same voice say, "Are you okay?"

Angela looked up, finally seeing the figures face. It was a boy, with green eyes that were almost closed, as if he was tired. He had light-blue blue hair, just like the energetic boy Angela had met yesterday after she bumped into the branch, but the boy by the branch had dark-blue hair. This boy had a sunhat tied to his back, a dark-blue shirt, a light-blue jacket and tan shorts, and was also wearing sandals. "Y-yes," Angela said weakly. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" The boy with the closed eyes said.

Angela was sick and tired of everyone asking if she was okay. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't okay, that she needed someone that she could trust, but she knew everyone wanted to hear the classic excuse.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just tired," she said.

"Long day?" He asked. Angela nodded. "Well, my name is Toby. I work at On The Hook over there, you see? The bait shop?" Toby pointed over there. "What's your name?"

Just like all the other people she had met, he had asked her what her name was. She knew it would be rude if she didn't tell anyone, so she did, even though she despised the six-letter, three-syllable word that her mom had picked out, that she was dying to name her baby girl. She sucked in a breath, let it go, and said, "My name is Angela."

Like everyone else, Toby had said, "Oh, your the girl who runs a farm!", and Angela could do nothing but nod. Toby talked for a minute, and Angela examined everything he said, but once in a while she would drift off, watching the waves crash on the shore. Toby seemed so laid-back, like nothing could bother him. Angela only wished she could be like him.

Toby said that he had to get to work, and they said goodbye. When Angela finally saw the door close, she felt a rush of relief. He hadn't hurt her, but something was suspicious. She hoped it was just her imagination.

She wiped yet another tear away, thinking about her and Marlin's talk this morning, and cried even more. She cried the whole way home, and she think someone noticed her and called her name, but she ignored it anyway and kept walking towards her house.

She spent more time in her house than anywhere. She wished she could live in there forever, but she knew she couldn't do that. She walked in weakly, her legs failing her, and then crashed on her bed. She didn't cry, she didn't scream, she didn't do anything. She laid on her bed with a blank expression on her face for a while, not falling asleep.

And then she cried. She cried silently, into her pillow, not letting out a sound, but occasionally a muffled scream. She couldn't do anything to stop it. There was no one there to comfort her. She knew this was not how her dad would want her to be, but she couldn't help it. Everything and everyone she had ever known and loved was gone.

* * *

After a couple of hours of crying, she thought it was, she stopped herself. She hadn't eaten in days, but she wasn't going to.

_Maybe that's why he left you_, Angela thought. _Because you're fat._

With her stomach growling, she sat up. Her face was drenched with her tears. She wiped them all away, but her eyes were blood red. She didn't care anymore; when she noticed that her house was failing, she weakly got out of bed. flattened her short hair, and walked out of her house. She remembered seeing a carpenters yesterday after she had bought potato seeds, so that's where she figured could fix her house. She continued to walk the paths until she found an old wood-sided building, and she walked in. She sauntered to the counter and waited for the big, pump man to come.

"Hello! How can I help you?" Angela mentioned that she wanted to fix up her house, and the man said that it would cost a lot of money. Angela only had 100G, but the man made her a deal. He would fix her house if she payed a certain amount each season, and she agreed. She was afraid of what they would do to her house.

The big man called, "Luke!"

The boy who Angela had met yesterday jogged into the room. "Yeah, pops?"

He told Luke about Angela, and Luke said that they had met already. Just by the hyper and energetic look on Luke's face, she knew this was going to be a long conversation and a long day.

* * *

**A/N - So sorry that it's short! I'll try to make chapter 5 longer. I hope you enjoyed!  
****~Julianna**


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N - Hiya! I'm back from vacation, everyone! Updates will be much quicker. xoxo  
Thank you all for the reviews! They mean so much to me and my eyes light up whenever I see a new one. :)  
**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Harvest Moon, but I do own this plot line!  
Have a sparkling day! *~*  
~Julianna xoxo_

* * *

"Luke, please try not to set the house in flames again."_  
_

"That was _one time_!"

Angela watched Luke argue with his father, not knowing what to do. She stood silently, watching, wondering what she could've done to make them like this. Were they arguing because Luke didn't want to fix her house? Was it because she was fat?

"I'm sorry," Angela muttered.

"What was that?" Dale asked her.

Angela didn't answer. The words rung in her ears. _What was that_? Marlin had said something like that after Angela caught him with Celia, and then he abused her. Angela closed her eyes, waiting for Dale to saunter up and hit her across the face. She braced for the pain, but she was expecting it.

Instead, Dale said, "Sorry, honey. I didn't hear you. Would you mind saying that again?"

Angela slowly opened her eyes, feeling no pain. When she saw the world around her again, Dale and Luke were still in the same place. They hadn't moved one muscle, or taken one step; but still Angela was cautious. They could do anything to her. They would hurt her in some way, emotionally or physically. They would leave her, or hit her, or be rude to her. She couldn't let that happen.

Luke and Dale were eying her, waiting for her answer. She considered telling them, but they would only take it the wrong way, and then hurt her. She opened her mouth, but then closed it again. She couldn't force it out of her mouth. Instead of telling the truth, she said, "It's . . . it's fine," she said quietly. "If it's too much work for you, never mind. It's fine . . . really. I'll just leave, and you won't have to do anything."

"No!" Luke exclaimed. "Don't leave! I love working on houses! Especially because I have my trusty friend with me . . ." Luke smirked and ran into the back room. Angela stood, hearing loud crashes and booms, and eventually Luke came back into the room holding an axe.

Angela yelped, jumped back, and hugged herself in an attempt to protect herself. Luke had a huge smile on his face, and somewhat of a crazy expression on his face. Angela could tell that this boy had tons of energy inside of him, and he was dying to get it all out.

"Hah!" Luke laughed. "Don't you worry, Angela. I've been working with this baby for three years!"

A look of confusion crossed Angela's face, and she glanced at Dale. Dale, as a father, let his fourteen-year-old son use an axe? Angela shook her head, dismissing the thought. This family wasn't any of her business. Besides, they wouldn't care about Angela anyway.

Luke swung his axe around in his hands, and Angela shaded her eyes, preparing for Luke to cut his wrist off. Instead, when she heard the sound of wood being chopped in half, she removed her hand-shade, and saw the edge of the table cut off.

"That . . ." Luke hesitated, almost looking guilty, "won't happen to your house."

Dale sighed, but chuckled silently. "Alright, Luke, Angela; why don't you leave?"

Angela would do anything to leave this place. For one thing she didn't want her hand chopped off. Luke jogged out of the carpenter's place and before she could follow him, Angela cursed herself. How could she do this? Luke probably had more energy in him than the whole island combined. Angela wouldn't be able to make it a couple of hours without talking to him.

Honestly, she regretted the decision. She didn't mind having her house dirty, or falling apart. Nobody would care, anyway. Luke would probably destroy her house completely, laugh at Angela's expression, and then leave. And to top that all off, this boy had an axe . . .

"Ya comin', Angela?" Luke called from outside the building. Angela couldn't be rude to him - if she was rude, he would hit her, the same thing Marlin did. Angela cursed herself again as she ran outside and met him by the fence. They started to walk down the path.

"So, are ya liking the island?" Luke asked her, his axe swung around his shoulder. His gold eyes stared into Angela's brown ones, so she looked away.

"Um . . . it's fine," she said. "Much better than where I come from."

"Forget-Me-Not Valley?" Luke asked her, saying the unspoken word.

Angela nodded miserably. "Yeah. I grew up there, and I just - I just needed a change of pace. The valley started to get boring." Angela knew she was lying, but she didn't care. Luke knew nothing about her, and Angela wanted it that way. She wanted these people on this island to know absolutely nothing about her. Even though they already acted like it, she wanted them to pretend that she didn't exist. That she was never born, and never came here.

"I understand you, completely," Luke began. "Well, not personally, I guess. This island is so vast and large, you never know where to go. You'll never get bored!" he said, and then laughed. Angela wondered how he could crack himself up. Then she wondered when the last time she ever released a _real_ laugh from her lips. She decided it was one of the last times she had seen Marlin back in the valley. Angela sighed, and shook her head. She said nothing, even when Luke stared at her with his shimmering gold eyes that reflected the sun, and shined.

Angela supposed Luke wanted her to ask him things like, 'What's your favorite color?' or 'If you could have one thing in the entire universe, what would it be?'. But Angela would never ask those things. Somehow, they would be used against her and she would be teased. Luke would probably get the entire island in on the rumor, and they would make fun of her for it, and torment her.

Just thinking about it, all Angela wanted to was curl up in a ball and cry, but she had made the idiotic decision to ask the carpenters to fix her house, so she had to stay strong for the next couple of hours.

"Soooooo," Luke said. "You looking forward to having your house fixed?"

"Sure," Angela said. Yet again, she was lying, but she couldn't lie; once again, it would be used against her. She sighed, staring down at the pavement. She didn't want to talk. Maybe, she could turn silent. She thought about it for a moment, but then she realized people would notice she wasn't talking. They would harass her, try to get her to talk, and because she was so damn stubborn, she wouldn't talk for these people, and they'd only tease her and make fun of her like some Kindergartners.

Luke sighed, blowing a strand of his blue hair out of his face. For a moment, Angela couldn't see the energy in him. It was like it had all drained out of him. But then suddenly, his eyes gained some of that excitement Angela saw when she first met him.

Why'd she have to see him again? Couldn't she stay on her farm all year long, and work there? No one would bother to come and see her. It would be her, and only her. She'd make her dad proud and show him that his daughter was strong. She was stronger than slipping into depression again and she would run the best farm from miles around. But she just had to be the perfectionist she was and noticed that her house was falling apart, and she had made the dumb mistake of asking for help.

"So, Angela," Luke began. "Let's get to working on your house! Before you know it, it'll be good as new!" He swung his arm, smiling brightly.

But Angela wasn't listening. She was thinking of her life in the valley. Most weekdays, she worked on the farm with her father, but he let her have the weekends to herself. Her father figured that she was a teenager; she needed to have some fun. Every Saturday, every teenager would meet up in the bar and they would talk, gossip, and hang out. Angela had begun to love the place, since it was where her and Marlin's relationship had begun. Usually, it would just be her, Marlin, Rock, Muffy, Celia, Gustafa, and sometimes Nami would come. Angela was friends with all of them, but her best friend had to be Lumina, who lived in the villa. Even though Lumina was three years younger than her, they got along great. Nobody was really sure how their friendship worked out, because they were so different.

Once, in the middle of Summer, when Angela was fifteen and Lumina was twelve, they went to the bar. Angela knew it would be safe; they never brought any alcohol with them, it was just juice and water. Unfortunately, that was the day the teenagers had decided to go wild. Somebody had given Lumina a glass of beer, and she had drank it. She only had one glass, that was it. Angela and Lumina had talked the next day and it was their little secret.

But Angela also had a secret from that night. It was just another reason she was going to hell.

Angela was best friends with everyone at the time. Her life was perfect. It hadn't spiraled out of control yet; her father hadn't died, her friends hadn't abandoned her, Marlin hadn't betrayed her. Muffy had given everyone a couple of bottles of beer from the city, and . . . things got a little out of hand. Thinking back on it, Angela knew that what she did was slutty; having her first time with Marlin and losing her virginity when she was only fifteen. But Angela and Marlin had more in common than anyone would ever think.

After that night, Marlin wouldn't speak to her for a week. She thought she had done something wrong, but eventually Marlin came back and they got back on track. Luckily, Marlin hadn't gotten her pregnant.

Then it hit her. Angela thought of what happened earlier this morning: Marlin and came back and begged for her apology. A week or so ago, she had caught Marlin and Celia doing it. Is that what happened? Did Celia break the news to him that she was pregnant, and Marlin left her, crawling back to Angela? That he just noticed his mistake because he was going to be a father?

Angela shook her head. She thought she knew Marlin well enough to know him, but she wasn't so sure anymore. Unless she left Waffle Island and came back to Forget-Me-Not Valley, she would never know.

She was okay with that. Why would she go back to a place where no one cared for her? Even Lumina had abandoned her. After Angela had gotten out of her depression, she went to say hi to Lumina in the villa. She had known Lumina ever since she was born, even though Angela was only three years-old at the time, so of course she could just walk right in without knocking. She did so, but after she took three steps in, their butler, Sebastian, caught her eye. Angela smiled brightly, and was just about to say hi, but Sebastian cut her off.

"Please knock next time, Ms. Newman. Also, Lumina does not wish to see you. I, for one, do not want her to see you again. You are no longer welcome here, and I'm sure Miss Romana would agree. I do not like having someone who is crazy in our household. Please leave, and if we ever need your presence again, I will be sure to contact you."

Right now, as Angela walked down the path with Luke, a sadness weighed her down. Thinking about Sebastian's statement made her want to start bawling, but Luke was standing right next to her. He'd try to ask her what was wrong, and she couldn't answer that.

No, Angela was not crazy. Depression is something that hurts, and it makes things worse for someone. It's an illness, and it doesn't mean someone is crazy. Just like anorexia is a disease, and not a fashion statement. It made Angela sad to think about that.

The thing that brought her back to reality was the sound of Luke's laughter. Angela presumed Luke was laughing at her. He thought she looked weird, she thought. He thought she looked ugly, like shit. He's laughing at her because she's ugly. He pitied her. He's glad he's not like her, the fat freak.

A tear slid down Angela's cheek and she continued to walk alone behind Luke as they walked toward her farm.

* * *

Angela wished, more than anything, that she hadn't said anything.

Because the hour with Luke was _torture_.

Angela stood to the side, her hands behind her back, watching Luke chop wood with his axe, splitting it in half, and and chopping it into smaller pieces. Luke seemed so confident. Angela knew that if she tried to handle an axe, she'd end up chopping her own hand off.

Luke sighed, a proud, tired sigh. "Well, Angela, I'm done for the day. Do you want me to come back tomorrow?"

Angela shook her head fiercely. "No," she whispered. At first it came out softly, but she cleared her throat and made her speak louder. "No, thank you. It's good . . . it's perfect. Thank you."

Luke nodded, saying he understood, but his eyebrows were raised. Angela's guard went up. Luke was about to do something to hurt her, she was sure of it.

"Is everything all right?" Luke asked her.

Angela closed her eyes for a moment, knowing she had to lie. She didn't want to, but she had to, if she wanted to say safe. Lies are cruel, and they can come around and kick you in the ass. She knew that from experience. She released the lie from her lips: "Yes. Everything is all right."

Luke chewed on his lip, and adjusted his bandana. Angela noticed that he almost _worshiped_ that bandana. Luke's golden eyes fixed on Angela's brown ones. "So!" Luke began. "Do you like _extreme_ things?"

Angela mentally sighed. All she wanted was for this boy to go away, and maybe she'd get some more seeds. But that would require going up to Souffle Farm and asking Ruth for another bag of seeds. Angela had to make her dad proud. She'd release her fears for only a minute to ask Ruth for the seeds. Then she would go back to her farm and plant them. She hoped her father would be proud.

She realized she hadn't answered Luke's question. As much as she didn't want to answer it, she knew she had to, or else Luke would hurt her. She remembered, from her last night back in the valley, after Marlin had come in - Marlin had asked her a question, and she hadn't answered. Then Marlin proceeded to hit her.

That's where everything went downhill.

She held back her tears and finally answered Luke's question. "No. Not really."

Luke looked taken aback. "How could you not like extreme things? Oh, Goddess, _please_ tell me you're not going to end up like _Gill . . ."_ Luke shuddered.

Angela blinked. What was wrong with Gill? He seemed nice enough. Stubborn, but nice enough. Luke was kind of . . . extreme. As if no one could tell.

"Sorry," Angela said. "I guess I'm not an _extreme_ person. I'm not going to end up like Gill because I'm my own person." she said, almost with a smidge of confidence. Unfortunately, as soon as she said that, Angela felt a rush of shame and guilt. She wasn't strong. She was a failure. She eyed Luke again, and he had a smirk plastered on his face.

He was doing something to her. Angela sniffled, trying to hold back the tears she wanted to let loose. She was thankful that Luke was quiet for a moment, because she had that time to herself to think. Unfortunately, that moment didn't last long.

"Well, then I'm off. Nice speaking with you, Angela."

_The feeling isn't mutual._ "Yeah," Angela said. "Nice talking with you." she whispered.

Angela watched Luke walk toward the Ganache Mine District, his axe behind his back. Luke turned around, sneaked another glance at Angela, and then smiled. Not at her. At himself. Almost as if he had come to an agreement.

Angela didn't want to know what that agreement was.

* * *

_A/N - And so, I procrastinated. I'm sorry, loves. I'll update sooner, I promise! :D  
Have a sparkling day! *~*  
~Julianna_


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